Anybody
who has studied the Bible’s chronology for some time will agree. There is only
one way to obtain the date of Exodus and it is by properly identifying the
origin of the 430 years mentioned in Exodus 12:40 and Galatians 3:17. These two
verses are fundamental to the building of an elaborate and consistent chronology
of the Bible.

·Ex 12:40-41 Now the sojourn of the children of
Israel who lived in Egypt was four hundred and thirty years. … all the armies of
the LORD went out from the land of Egypt. NKJV

·Gal 3:17 What I mean is this: The law,
introduced 430 years later, does not set aside the covenant previously
established by God and thus do away with the promise NIV

The purpose of this article is first to
identify the covenant alluded to in Galatians 3:17, determine the right date for
the Exodus, and finally find out what happened 400 years before the Exodus.

The Israelites left Egypt at the Exodus
and according to Exodus 12:40 it was at the end of a period of 430 years[1].
Here the Bible verse is unclear about where the period started. Fortunately we
are not left without a clue as Galatians 3:17 supplies us with an important
clarification: the 430-year period originated at the time of a covenant. In
Galatians 3:16, one verse before, we learn that the covenant was known to
Abraham, the first patriarch of Israel.

·Gal 3:16 Now to Abraham and his Seed were the
promises made. NKJV

Our initial approach will be to build a
timeline of the important events in Abraham’s life. One of those events is more
likely to have triggered the 430-year countdown to the Exodus. We have to keep
in mind that we don’t know if we are looking for a covenant that was enunciated,
confirmed or activated.

Important: The following timeline uses
the year 2008 AM for the birth of Abraham. The readers can refer to the last
page of this article where a complete list of all the patriarchs from Adam to
Jacob is enumerated. (Anno
Mundi
(Latin: "in the year of the
world"), abbreviated as
AM or
A.M., the year since the creation of
the world, according to biblical revelation.)

Should we start the 430
years … (see the previous figure for references)

ÞWhen Abraham
left Haran at age 75? He was certainly obeying God in doing that.

ÞWhen Abraham
received the covenant of the land when he was 85? This is the first time a sign
is requested to confirm that the land will be given (the cutting into parts, Gen
15:8-11).

ÞWhen Abraham
was circumcised at age 99? By marking his own flesh and the flesh of his people
Abraham was ratifying a very special agreement with God.

ÞWhen
100-year-old Abraham became the father of Isaac? This was the fulfillment of a
promise received the previous year and the beginning of an important dynasty.

Intuitively it seems right to
associate the ‘Covenant of
the land’ and the origin of the 430 years. One could
say that the period started with a promise to give a land and the covenant that
came with it, and, many years after, ended with several millions of people
escaping slavery to come back and claim the very land that was promised to their
patriarchs. --- Unfortunately that argument wouldn’t be strong enough to
convince everyone that those events are absolutely complementary. But there is
more…

Very few people are aware of it but
during the Exodus the strange ritual performed by Abraham when he learned of the
covenant of the land (cutting into parts) was subtly echoed in several points.

A journey that lasted
430 years (in 6 steps)

(Covenant
of the land in 2093 AM
to Exodus in 2523 AM)

(1) For the first time Abraham received
a covenant

Gen 15:18 On the same day the LORD
made a covenant with Abram, saying: "To your descendants I have given this
land, from the river of Egypt to the great river

(2) that was accompanied by a sign

Gen 15:9-10 So He said to him,
"Bring Me a three-year-old heifer, a three-year-old female goat, a
three-year-old ram, a turtledove, and a young pigeon." Then he brought all
these to Him and cut them in two, down the middle, and placed each piece
opposite the other; but he did not cut the birds in two. NKJV

(3) And in order to inaugurate (and
seal) this covenant, God went through the
cutting into

parts.

(5) God remembered the covenant
and was ready to give the Israelites their land:

Ex 6:4-5 I have also established My
covenant with them, to give them the land of Canaan, the land of their
pilgrimage, in which they were strangers. And I have also heard the groaning
of the children of Israel whom the Egyptians keep in bondage, and I have
remembered My covenant. NKJV

Ex 6:8 and I will give it to you as
a heritage NKJV

(6) Prior to receiving the object of the
covenant[2]
that was sealed when God went through the parts, the
Israelites went through the sea, which had been physically split.
(We have here a clear reminder of the true origin of this covenant.)

Ex 14:16 But lift up your rod, and
stretch out your hand over the sea and divide it. And the children of Israel
shall go on dry ground through the midst of the sea. NKJV

The purpose of showing that
there is a strong association between the ‘Covenant of the land[3]’
and the Exodus was to stress that the 430-year period is more likely
connecting two events that already share bonds together. But any persisting
doubts should disappear with the following discovery. The Exodus also echoed
extensively two others events that
occurred during the very same year of the ‘cutting into parts’. These are the
rescuing of Lot by Abram just before he received the covenant of the land, and
Hagar’s pregnancy that began right after.

The
first event: The rescuing of Lot

Just before receiving the covenant of
the cutting (covenant of the land) Abram was told that his relative had been
taking captive.

Gen 14:14 Now when Abram heard that
his brother was taken captive, NKJV

Moses was sent to rescue his brothers
the Israelites.

Ex 3:13 The God of your fathers has
sent me to you,' NKJV

----------

After Abram had rescued Lot, he gave a
tithe of everything to the king of Salem.

Gen 14:20 And he gave him a tithe
of all. NKJV

In exchange for having saved the
Israelite males in every family, God asked Moses to consecrate every firstborn
among the Israelites to Himself.

Num 3:11-13 "Now behold, I Myself
have taken the Levites from among the children of Israel instead of every
firstborn who opens the womb among the children of Israel. Therefore the
Levites shall be Mine, 13 because all the firstborn are Mine. On the day
that I struck all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, I sanctified to Myself
all the firstborn in Israel, both man and beast. They shall be Mine: I am
the LORD." NKJV

----------

Against all odds Abram refused to
accept any part of the goods that were offered by the King of Sodom.

Gen 14:22-23 But Abram said to the
king of Sodom, "I have raised my hand to the LORD, God Most High, the
Possessor of heaven and earth, that I will take nothing, from a thread to a
sandal strap, and that I will not take anything that is yours." NKJV

At the Exodus, just before leaving
Egypt, against all odds, the Israelite received a huge amount of goods from the
Egyptians themselves.

Ex 3:21-22 And I will give this
people favor in the sight of the Egyptians; and it shall be, when you go,
that you shall not go empty-handed. 22 But every woman shall ask of her
neighbor, namely, of her who dwells near her house, articles of silver,
articles of gold, and clothing; and you shall put them on your sons and on
your daughters. So you shall plunder the Egyptians." NKJV

The second event: Hagar’s pregnancy

A subordinate
journey that lasted 400 years

(From Akeda in 2123 AM
to Exodus in 2523 AM)

With the date of Exodus known we are now
well positioned to determine with absolute certainty the origin of the 400 years
of Gen 15:13.

·Gen 15:13 Then He said to Abram: "Know
certainly that your descendants will be strangers in a land that is not theirs,
and will serve them, and they will afflict them four hundred years. NKJV

Knowing that the
period ended at the Exodus it is a simple matter to go backwards 400 years
from 2523 AM and arrive at 2123 AM. Unfortunately, even though we have found
the right date a simple glimpse at the table on page 2 shows that we are
lacking any event to go with this date. In 2123 Isaac was 15 years old,
which in itself is meaningless unless it was also the very year Isaac was
sacrificed by Abraham? (The Jews refer to this "sacrifice" as ‘the binding
of Isaac’ and use the Hebrew word ‘AKEDA’ when they talk about it.)

The Bible doesn’t give any direct
chronological link to Isaac’s sacrifice. Isn’t it surprising when we think about
it? Isn’t it quite inconceivable that the biggest act of obedience and faith
ever described in the Bible, the most important symbolic act, an act that would
even be mirrored at Yeshua’s death, wouldn’t be accurately dated when more than
300 chronological references are available to chart all kinds of other events?
Isn’t it possible that the 400-year period had its origin in the year of Isaac’s
binding? Is there any other event that could be more meaningful to mark the
beginning of this important period?

In Gen 15:13 we are told
that the 400-year period has to do with the whereabouts of Abraham’s descendant.
Logically, by arguing in favour of Isaac’s birth, which gave Abraham his first
legitimate descendant, we would have a very convincing event to initiate this
period. Unfortunately the preceding chart shows that it is not possible, as
Isaac was already 15 years old when the 400-year period started in 2123 AM. But
then wouldn’t the Sacrifice of Isaac be the next best candidate, if not in fact
a better one? Here is why.

First a few facts to show that Isaac was
neither an infant nor an adult at the time of the sacrifice. One can say that at
15 years old he was in the right age range.

Old enough to worship

·Gen 22:5 We will worship and then we will come
back to you." NIV

Strong enough
to hold all the wood

·Gen 22:6 Abraham took the wood for the burnt
offering and placed it on his son Isaac, NIV

Still young
enough to be called “boy”

·Gen 22:5 He said to his servants, "Stay here
with the donkey while I and the boy go over there. NIV

NOTE: wªhana`ar the Hebrew word
translated here as “the boy” could describe Isaac at any period from the age of
infancy to adolescence.

We are told that God would
establish a covenant with Isaac.

·Gen 17:19 I will establish My covenant with him
[Isaac] for an everlasting covenant, and with his descendants after him. NKJV

·Gen 17:21 1 But My covenant I will establish
with Isaac, NKJV

We are also told that Abraham and Isaac
would be involved (together?) in a covenant and a promise.

·1 Chron 16:16 The covenant which He made with
Abraham, And His oath to Isaac, NKJV

·Ps 105:9 the covenant he made with Abraham, the
oath he swore to Isaac. NIV

We know that a covenant was confirmed to Abraham at Akeda.

·Gen 22:15-17 The angel of the LORD called to Abraham from heaven a
second time 16 and said, "I swear by myself, declares the LORD, that because you
have done this and have not withheld your son, your only son, I will surely
bless you.. NIV

Could it be
that Isaac was also chosen during Akeda?

Isaac’s
relationship with his father Abraham culminated at Akeda. The only bonding
activity between them ever documented in the Bible is the three days’ journey to
Mt. Moriah. During this trip Abraham’s sadness must have been almost unbearable.
How could it have been different? He had just been asked to do the most
difficult thing ever: offer to God the unexpected son of his old age, the only
son he shared with Saraï, a son that he loved[4]
very much. At 15 Isaac was old enough to understand what was going on and if he
had ever witnessed his father offering a sacrifice to God in the past, he must
have sensed that this time something was quite different.

Gen 22:7 "The fire and wood are
here," Isaac said, "but where is the lamb for the burnt offering?"

Whether he had known for some time or
had only learned at the last minute that he would be the victim, it didn’t make
any difference. Isaac never offered any resistance and he followed his father
unrestrained, to the top of the mountain where an altar would be built.

·Gen 22:5 Stay here with the donkey while I and
the boy go over there.

In 2123 AM Abraham was 115 years old
and would never have been able to bind his 15 year old son if he had refused to
cooperate. Isaac was a consenting victim who could have found many opportunities
to run away, but he didn’t. On the contrary he even walked the last stretch to
the altar by himself.

Gen 22:9 He bound his son Isaac and
laid him on the altar, on top of the wood.

There was no other situation in Isaac’s
life (that we are told about), which provided him with the possibility to show
his unconditional faith in his father and in God. The sacrifice of Isaac was a
request so well chosen that it allowed Abraham and Isaac to independently prove
their worth to God at the same time.

vAbraham proved himself by offering his son in
sacrifice.

vIsaac proved himself by accepting to be the
sacrificed.

At Akeda Isaac didn’t object to his
father’s plan and he totally accepted that he would die. In fact, he came so
close to death that one can say that symbolically he did die. But then, if there
was a symbolic death it had to be followed by a symbolic resurrection and the
opportunity of a new beginning. That day Isaac inherited his father’s covenant.

·Gen 15:13 Then He said to Abram: "Know
certainly that your descendants will be strangers in a land that
is not theirs, and will serve them, and they will afflict them four hundred
years. NKJV

The only remaining question before one
can fully accept that Akeda is at the origin of the 400-year period is the
following. Did Isaac, the new born descendant, begin this new journey by being a
stranger in a land that was not his? The answer is: Absolutely!
Have you noticed that Isaac never returned home with his father?

Gen 22:19 Then Abraham returned to
his servants, and they set off together for Beersheba. And Abraham stayed in
Beersheba. NIV

In fact 25 more years went by before
Isaac appeared again[5]
when we learn that he was living in the Negev and was about to be married.

Gen 24:62 Now Isaac had come from
Beer Lahai Roi, for he was living in the Negev. NIV

Some facts from Akeda that were
echoed 400 years later during the Exodus

The next figure shows that
the 15-year-old Isaac had symbolically died and was resurrected during the
sacrifice. On that day Isaac began his own ‘prophetic’ journey that was going to
last 400 years.

Event

Reference

Born

Dies

Born

Dies

0 AM

Adam

930

Gen
5:5

130

Seth

1042

Gen
5:3

Gen
5:8

235

Enosh

1140

Gen
5:6

Gen
5:11

325

Kenan

1235

Gen
5:9

Gen
5:14

395

Mahalalel

1290

Gen
5:12

Gen
5:17

460

Jared

1422

Gen
5:15

Gen
5:20

622

Enoch

987

Gen
5:18

Gen
5:23

687

Methuselah

1656

Gen
5:21

Gen
5:27

874

Lamech

1651

Gen
5:25

Gen
5:31

1056

Noah

2006

Gen
5:28

Gen
9:29

Built the Ark

(1536)

1558

Shem

2158

Gen
11:10

Gen
11:11

Flood (1656)

Gen
7:6

Gen
5:5

1658

Arphaxad

2096

Gen
11:10

Gen
11:13

1693

Shelah

2126

Gen
11:12

Gen
11:15

1723

Eber

2187

Gen
11:14

Gen
11:17

1757

Peleg

1996

Gen
11:16

Gen
11:19

1787

Reu

2026

Gen
11:18

Gen
11:21

1819

Serug

2049

Gen
11:20

Gen
11:23

1849

Nahor

1997

Gen
11:22

Gen
11:25

1878

Terah

2083

Gen
11:24

Gen
11:32

2008

Abram

2183

Gen
12:4

Gen
25:7

2018

Sarai

2145

Gen
17:17

Gen
23:1

2108

Isaac

2288

Gen
17:17

Gen
35:28

2168

Jacob

2315

Gen
25:26

Gen
47:28

[1]Here
many people have been lured into thinking that the Israelites spent the
whole 430 years in Egypt. Even though the verse seems to say so it
wasn’t the case and we will see later that there is an alternate way to
understand Ex 12:40.